At the turn of the millennium, 221 armed bank robberies were reported from Denmark, their number has remained less than ten per year since 2017, and in 2021 there was only one such crime, while in 2022 none were committed. .
Cash transactions have been losing importance in Denmark for years in favor of card and mobile apps. The coronavirus pandemic has also reinforced this trend. As a result, bank branches of financial institutions do not have large cash reserves either.
Last March, the Danish Central Bank announced that in 2021, cash payments accounted for barely 12 percent of purchases, while in 2017 they were still 23 percent. The Association of Banks welcomed the newly announced development, stating that the bank robberies had “inflicted significant emotional damage on the staff involved”.
Thieves initially turned to hacking ATMs, but thanks to monitoring devices and technical security, the number of such crimes has also decreased. The report revealed that in recent years, criminals have been more likely to attempt online fraud.
(Cover photo: People use a Danske Bank ATM in Copenhagen on September 8, 2018. Photo: Ole Jensen / Getty Images)
